Lisa Tuite

April 5, 2018

Lisa Tuite

The Boston Globe

Lisa Tuite took a position at The Boston Globe in 1979 putting newspaper clippings on cardboard, which were made into microfiche. She retired in 2017 as the Globe’s head librarian. As head of the library, she managed the Globe’s vast array of text and photo archives – a priceless resource that continues to provide critical knowledge and insight to reporters and editors day after day.

She didn’t just look up information, she applied her sharp sleuthing mind. She thought and analyzed on behalf of the journalists. Then she dug further and got them even better material. Many of the best reporting breakthroughs at the Globe started with what Lisa Tuite unearthed for reporters there. Having her assist on a story – breaking or enterprise – was like having the best memory bank by your side. She knew where stuff was – whether in clips or public documents and as a student of government she knew what public agency had oversight and who within that agency was approachable.

Tuite and the rest of the library staff have played a key role in producing some of the Globe’s most important works of journalism. The library is involved in every Spotlight story, and it’s city directories were the catalyst for the story on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Librarians manually cross-referenced the directories to follow priests from parish to parish. As names of the priests involved in the scandal came to light, Tuite and her team researched the priests’ backgrounds. Tuite’s “research forensics” revealed the story. (Lisa Tuite is featured in the Oscar-winning movie “Spotlight” – she’s portrayed by actress Michele Proude).

Tuite is the unsung hero of the best investigative journalism – and much of all the outstanding work – done at the Globe.